Fruit and Veggie Time!

Hey guys, I just wanted to share some of my new found wisdom on fruits and veggies. I have always loved them, but never viewed them as a practical snack. Being the occasional snacker....okay the non-stop snacker that I am, I would always grab the chips, chocolate, ice cream, cookies, popcorn, or whatever sugar packed snack we had on hand. But recently I have been trying to be a little bit healthier, and that includes eating more fruits and veggies. The problem is, I am EXTREMELY picky when it comes to my produce. If anything has a soft spot, bruise, cut, or even just a tad too hard or too soft, I find it incredibly hard to eat and 9 times out of 10 will put it right back. But one way I have discovered to get around this is making chips. I have been making batch after batch of both apple and banana chips. It gives them a bit more flavor, they last longer, and no soft patches! Another thing I have found helps when I just want a quick snack is portioned out sandwich baggies with my favorite veggies. For example I will take a little baggie and throw in some baby carrots, red and green pepper slices (one veggie I don't mind being sliced), and then when I feel snackish I just pull one of these bad boys out, add either some tomato or cucumber and I have a great, healthy, and filling snack that I can take on the go. Another thing I have been attempting is adding more fruits and veggies in with my meals. So I will add some steamed broccoli or some grilled tomato to my lunch or dinner. Grilled tomato as weird as it sounds is actually amazing! Goes great with an omelette or a sandwich. And in today's blog I am going to add both the recipe for my apple and banana chips, and my recipe for grilled tomato, and both of these are more of a how to than a recipe. But does that REALLY matter?  So here it goes!

Apple and Banana Chips

Apples (as many as you want)

Bananas (as many as you want)

Lemon juice

(optional) 
Cinnamon
Brown sugar

So the first thing you want to do is preheat your oven to 225 degrees, next cut your apples and bananas, cut the apples into very thin slices, and remove any seed that get caught in your slices. As for the bananas cut them into medium sized slices, and cut horizontally to make the most of your banana. Now put about a cup of lemon juice into a medium sized bowl. Dip your apples and bananas into the lemon juice (this stops them from turning brown and icky). Now throw your fruit slices onto a cookie sheet, I put parchment paper on mine which I found really helped with the clean up, but other wise just a greased sheet will do. If you chose to do both bananas and apples on the same pan do it half and half. And as for spacing put them as close together without letting your slices touch. Now put them in your oven for approx 1 1/2 hours. if you feel like they aren't crispy enough feel free to leave them in for an extra 1/2 hour. By this point your banana and apple chips should be completely dried out and ready to eat.

Tip: I love sprinkling a little cinnamon and brown sugar on my apples before they go in the oven, just to kick it up a notch. Mmmmm Yummy!
Tip: I would recommend putting your apples and bananas on separate sheet trays, I just found it worked much better.  

So there is my fruit chip recipe. I will admit my first batch was terrible, I mean spit it out and gag bad, but I convinced myself to try again, and let me tell you, they turned out so much better, it was unbelievable. So I now highly recommend these make your own, and for a little extra guidance, do not be discouraged if your batch doesn't turn out first time 'round, it happens to the best of us. Now onto the next recipe, grilled tomatoes!

Grilled Tomatoes

Two Roma Tomatoes

(Optional)
salt, pepper, and other seasonings

So what you have to do first is get you pan all heated up, so turn the heat up high. Once its preheated, spray it with some pan or put a tad bit of oil down in the pan, just a couple drops. Now cut the ends off, but you have to do this carefully, you want the bottoms flat, at the same time you don't want to cut off too much other wise you will get a leaky tomato. Next slice them in half and sprinkle a little salt and pepper on. Now you are ready to put them in the frying pan, turn the heat down to a high medium, put them in bottom down. Leave them in until they get a nice little char on the bottom( about one minute ) and flip them over so you get the same result on the top side. By this point they should be ready to pop onto a plate and eat up. 

Tip: Experiment! Try different seasonings, try scooping out the seeds and putting in some sort of filling, or even try some new toppings, I have found bacon, cheese, and spinach, work wonderfully well.

And there ya go! Two of my new favorite recipes at your finger tips. So have fun with these and try new things, see what combinations work and which ones don't. Maybe mushrooms would work on those tomatoes with some caramelized onions and some smokey mozza... definitely something I will have to try. Till next time, see ya!


*Pictures to come :)

Bread Pudding and Shortbread Cookies

Hello, hello, long time no time no chat, well actually not really. Fact about me #1, never had/made bread pudding...Crazy right! I thought it was about time to try it, so I got all the ingredients together, and was a mix'n and stir'n, unfortunately it didn't really turn out. But then again that could just be because of a bad recipe, lack of experience, or you know, never having tried it. Maybe it's just not my thing, but at least I tried it...right?  

Now onto more important things like my new  FAVORITE cookie recipe, shortbread!!!! It's quick, easy, and most importantly delicious. I am a huge fan (as you may have guessed) of easy baking. I like recipes that are easy, quick, yummy, and use only the few ingredients I have in stock. Another thing I am also a huge fan of substitute cooking/baking. For you out there that don't know what substitute cooking/baking is put simply, "If ya don't have it, that's okay."  Of course you can't substitute everything, somethings have to be what they have to be. Things like flour, sugar, icing sugar*, etc., cannot be substituted which is why I like to always have them on hand for my spontaneous baking. But things like nuts can be substituted  for raisins, dried cranberries, or sometimes chocolate chips. Or sometimes you can substitute more crucial ingredients like butter for margarine, water for milk, etc. If worse comes to worst sometimes I just switch out recipes and make do, I once found a recipe for icing using just flavoring, milk, sugar, and butter. NO ICING SUGAR! I think that's one of the reasons I love my new shortbread recipe, butter, icing sugar, flour, vanilla! That's it!  So here it is, the big reveal:

BEST SHORTBREAD EVER

Ingredients

1 cup of butter, softened
3/4 cup of icing sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 1/2 cups of flour

Heat oven to 350F. In a large bowl beat butter, icing sugar, and vanilla together with a spoon. Stir   flour one cup at a time. (If dough is crumbly, stir in 1 or 2 tablespoons of softened butter or water into the dough)

Roll dough 1/2 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut into small shapes with hands or cookie cutters. Place 1/2 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. 

Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until set and bottoms are golden brown. Remove immediately and cool completely on wire racks.


And that's it, easy peasy and so much fun. You can also add your own flavors or once cool dip in melted chocolate for extra yummy goodness. So next time you need a go-to cookie recipe  this should be your first choice.

* Icing sugar is also referred to as powdered sugar or confectioners sugar, but they are all one in the same.

Cinnamon Muffins!

 Well, Hello there. Yes I know it has been forever, and yes I know some of you might not want to forgive me, but you will after you see what I have for you today. Cinnamon Muffins, these yummy little holiday treats will leave you wanting more, that's for sure. Now for the best part, they are amazingly easy, no overnight soaking, no 30 ingredient shopping list, just the basics.  So, let's get started. 

Dry Ingredients 

1 1/2 cups of flour

1/2 cup of sugar

1/4 cup of packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of cinnamon

2 teaspoons of baking powder

Wet Ingredients

3/4 cup of milk

3/4 cup of oil

1 egg beaten

Optional ingredients

a handful of chopped walnuts

a handful of golden raisins

So first preheat your oven to 400ºF or 200ºC. Now mix all your dry ingredients together until mixed, loose, and fluffy. Next, add your wet ingredients and mix until moist. When I first made this I found that the batter was still a little dry (more like cookie dough), if this happens to you just add a table spoon of both milk and oil until you get a thick batter consistency. Now if you want to add chopped walnuts or raisins, or both, by all means throw them in after you have mixed both the wet and dry ingredients. Leave your muffins in the oven for 18-20 minutes and they will turn out beautifully. I was able to make 16 small muffins from this batch, so just a little forewarning you may want to double this recipe if you are making large muffins or quite a few of them.

Tip: I also chose to sprinkle a little brown sugar mixed with a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon on the batter before putting the muffins in the oven, for a little decoration.

Tip: Another thing you could do is make a simple icing with powdered sugar and milk, to make your muffins taste like cinnamon rolls.

Truth be told, I could barely keep my fingers out of the batter, it's just soooooo yummy! Try adding your own twists like nutmeg, chocolate chips, or maybe treat them like cupcakes and fill the with some cream cheese icing or maybe some cinnamon drizzle.

How to be less late!

Imagine this, your alarm going off, you hit snooze, "just a few more minutes." You wake up with 15 minutes to get ready...And you are late! This happens to me way more often than it should, but I have created strategies to over come my chronic tardiness. So here they are.

1. Right after you do laundry match up a few To-Go outfits. I like doing two work and one casual. Then if you are running late instead of having to throw together something that looks awful you have something ready to put on. I usually put a dress, necklace, earrings, and shoes in my work outfit, it's easy to throw on. Then for casual maybe a pair of jeans, shirt, accessories, shoes, and whatever else I need to make it work.

2. To make sure you grab something that is easily forgotten, like a form, bill, or library books, put your keys and cell phone on top of it.

3. Have a To-Go breakfast waiting, put a piece of fruit, granola bar, and a bottle of water in the fridge or on the counter to make sure that your stomach isn't growling around 10.

4. Have an easy to do hair and make up routine that you can do in under 5 minutes total, ready to do. My favorite is the sock bun and quick colour combinations that allow for a margin of error. Try the neutrals, then if you miss a spot it blends right in.

5. To help you manage your time better, time yourself and create a music playlist that long. Start by adding slow songs that lead up to the fastest songs, that makes it easy to find out the approx. time without looking at a clock.

So there you go, just a few helpful suggestions that I found worked, thanks for reading!

Home Made Body Scrubs

Today's post is on home made body scrubs! I love the quick and easy recipes that you can just throw together after a long day. So I decided to share my secrets with the world. These are really good for getting rid of dry or scaly skin, and this is just a few, I will post more in the future.

Body Scrubs

• Coffee Scrub
• Honey Scrub
• Margarita Scrub

Coffee Scrub

You will need:

• 1 tbs of Coffee (any temp.)
• 1 tbs of milk
• 1/2 cup of coarse or brown Sugar, if you don't have it coarse Sea Salt will do.
• 1 tsp of oil

So to start put your Salt or Sugar in a bowl, add your oil and mix well. This prevents the coffee from dissolving the sugar. Now add your milk and coffee, only to about this consistency. You will want this consistency for all the scrubs. Rub face for 30 sec - 1 min, then leave on until your face feels stiff. Wash off with warm water and pat dry. And on a personal note, I like using hot or warm coffee for a relaxing effect.

Honey Scrub

You will need:

• 1/4 cup of Honey
• 1/2 cup of Brown Sugar

Simply mix the honey and the sugar. Rub face for 30 sec - 1 min, then leave on until your face feels stiff. Wash off with warm water and pat dry.This scrub feels GREAT, and it makes your skin so smooth. and really moisturizes. This one is super easy and I always find myself making it.

Margarita Scrub

You will need:

• 2 or 3 tbs of lime juice
• 1 tsp of olive oil
• 1/2 cup of Coarse Sea Salt

This is a really great scrub, but I don't recommend it if you have moderate to bad acne or any broken skin or cuts on your face. Though technically speaking if you have cuts or broken skin on your face you shouldn't be using any scrubs. Anywho...Add your salt, then oil, mix well and then your lime juice. This scrub is very invigorating, good for a girls night made with a margarita to drink as well.

If you want you can also triple the recipe for any of the scrubs and put it in a jar for later use, it also can make a really nice gift, tie a little bow on it.

11 ways to spice up your instant noodles!

This post comes straight from the college kid handbook, yummy instant noodles. Now most people use instant noodles or noodle bowls as quick pack lunch, something to grab and go. But having had my fair share of dehydrated goodness it started getting a little bland, so I started looking for ways to make them that much better. I actually found quite a few really good ways to give them a boost.

1. Try adding fresh or frozen veggies. I usually use frozen corn, peas, or carrot chunks. But you could also use spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, or whatever you like. I HATE the dehydrated veggies that tend to come in your noodle bowls so I just take them out and add my veggies of choice.
2. Try adding your favorite sauce, depending on the flavor I sometimes use peanut sauce, hot mustard, soy sauce, or just hot sauce to give it a bit of a kick.
3. Add frozen shrimp or other meats, such as shredded chicken, tuna, ground beef, pieces of steak or pork.
4. If you like tofu, try adding some into your instant noodles. Tofu absorbs the flavor of what it's cooked in, so before you add water to your noodles, throw some tofu in the bowl or cup to give it some texture.
5. Try making your own flavor combinations, instead of just using the packet that is supplied, add 1/4 of a bouillon cube and whatever spices you fancy. If you like East Indian food try adding some curry.
6. To really switch it up don't use the noodles to make soup, try making them into pad Thai. Just instead of using your regular rice noodles, use these instead for a quick dinner.
7. Use them to make spaghetti, just cook up your noodles and microwave a can of tomato sauce, add your favorite spices and there you go.
8. Try adding an egg, cook an egg and place it on top, super yummy!
9. Make them into a creamy pasta salad.
10. Try frying them with your favorite ingredients to give them a bit more texture, they make a really yummy stir fry!
11. Make it into trail mix, fry your noodles, add dried cranberries and other fruit, some slice nuts, and some smarties.

So that's it, that's all for my ramen minded friends, so till next time! ( oh and if you didn't like this post here's a free bowl of noodles for you!)

Roasted Pepper Soup and Chocolate Cream pie

Everyone likes soup, right? Ok, good because that is what todays post is about, I found this recipe years ago, on a little known blog such as this. Unfortunately the blog was deleted, so now I go from memory, but today I decided to write it down for you. This is Roasted Pepper Soup, super yummy hot or cold, and perfect when you need a pick me up! It's super easy healthy, and delicious, it will defiantly be a winner at your table!

Roasted Pepper Soup

serving size: 6-8

What you will need:

• One large soup pot
• Blender
• Spoon
• 6 cups of chicken or veggie broth(At least enough to cover your sweet potatoes)
• 2 cups of water
• 2 or 3 bell peppers (I like using the yellow and orange, but you can also use red.)
• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 6 stalks of celery
• 5 carrots
• 1/2 an onion
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Sour cream for garnish

So let's get started, first cut your peppers into 1/4, then take out the insides. Then lay them flesh down, skin up, on a small pan. Put them on broil or about 200C. Leave them in until the skins are dark brown or black.

But while our peppers are broiling, peel and chop your sweet potatoes, just a medium size chop should do it.

Now put the sweet potatoes, broth, and water all together in your pot, and turn the burner to medium. Next chop the rest of your veggies, don't worry to much about the size, it all gets pureed any way. They should look something like this:

By now your peppers should be done, so take them out and let them cool. Once the are cool enough to touch remove the skin, it should just peel off, then chop them up too. Now add the veggies and the roasted peppers. Let the water boil, until it looks kind of like this:

Once your soup is boiling, turn it down to a simmer, let it simmer for 15-20 minutes. If you don't like pureed soups you can eat it just like this, but I highly recommend you puree it. Now using a blender, food processor, or a hand held blender, basically anything that will get the job done, you puree until there is no visible chunks. You might have to search around a little. Now finally, serve with a little dollop of sour cream( makes a HUGE difference)

MMMMM, yummy! It is one amazing healthy soup that you won't be able to get enough of! And maybe for dessert a little chocolate cream pie? Just to reward that good behavior!